Hello Internet folk! I'm back from the Land of the Crud. Mostly. The antibiotics that the doctor gave me seem to be helping and I'm running at about 90% today. A big improvement from where I was, let me tell ya. Of course, feeling better meant going back to work, which I did on Sunday & Monday evenings. After being off for 12 days (only 3 of which were days I was supposed to work) it was nice to see everyone, and they were happy to see me back too. It's so nice to be appreciated at work.
**For those of you that are just getting to know me, I work part-time at our local hospital as a Unit Coordinator on the medical floor. It's the largest unit in the hospital and is usually crazy-busy, but I work with some great people and really like what I do. I work evening shift (3-11:30pm) ten days a month. My husband is home in time for me to head to work on the days that I'm on so we avoid having to have babysitters and such. It's been a real blessing, even though it's the most I've worked since we had our kids. With my husband being basically self-employed, it's a huge benefit to get insurance for only working 20 hrs a week, which is why I do it. That and the extra money are both necessary.**
I'm really lucky that, for the most part, I really do like my job and co-workers. I can't imagine having to work AND absolutely hating my job. At least my time away from my family isn't complete misery, and I'm very grateful for that. Because, to be honest, I'd be completely content to be home full-time and not work at all. I love being a wife and mommy and taking care of my house. I've always said that I have no idea how moms who work full-time do it. It just escapes me. I know I couldn't do it and I hope I don't ever have to. Kudos to all you working moms out there!
Aside from the time away from my family, there is definitely a downside to me working. Considering I don't get off work until 11:30pm and home until almost midnight, I'm a bit tired the next day. And on the weekdays when Hubby heads to work at 7am, I am up with the kids shortly thereafter. As I've stated before, I am NOT a morning person and even less so when I've only had 6.5-7 hours of sleep. I've always been a girl that NEEDS at least 8 hours of sleep, so several days in a row of less sleeps leaves me a little short-tempered. That combined with bouncy little morning children sometimes isn't a good thing.
Yesterday was one of those days. I wasn't thrilled to hear Zoë hollering for me at 7:15am from her room, but I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed anyway. My mood just soured as the morning wore on. After being sick for a week, the house is a wreck and the laundry has grown to frightening proportions again. Much like this. It's like an enormous cotton & polyester reminder of my shortcomings as a domestic goddess. All of this did nothing to improve my mood and unfortunately my frustration and fatigue spilled out at the kids. I apologized to the kids for my short temper and explained that I was just cranky from being tired, but I worry that they'll remember my raised voice and not my apology.
**For those of you that are just getting to know me, I work part-time at our local hospital as a Unit Coordinator on the medical floor. It's the largest unit in the hospital and is usually crazy-busy, but I work with some great people and really like what I do. I work evening shift (3-11:30pm) ten days a month. My husband is home in time for me to head to work on the days that I'm on so we avoid having to have babysitters and such. It's been a real blessing, even though it's the most I've worked since we had our kids. With my husband being basically self-employed, it's a huge benefit to get insurance for only working 20 hrs a week, which is why I do it. That and the extra money are both necessary.**
I'm really lucky that, for the most part, I really do like my job and co-workers. I can't imagine having to work AND absolutely hating my job. At least my time away from my family isn't complete misery, and I'm very grateful for that. Because, to be honest, I'd be completely content to be home full-time and not work at all. I love being a wife and mommy and taking care of my house. I've always said that I have no idea how moms who work full-time do it. It just escapes me. I know I couldn't do it and I hope I don't ever have to. Kudos to all you working moms out there!
Aside from the time away from my family, there is definitely a downside to me working. Considering I don't get off work until 11:30pm and home until almost midnight, I'm a bit tired the next day. And on the weekdays when Hubby heads to work at 7am, I am up with the kids shortly thereafter. As I've stated before, I am NOT a morning person and even less so when I've only had 6.5-7 hours of sleep. I've always been a girl that NEEDS at least 8 hours of sleep, so several days in a row of less sleeps leaves me a little short-tempered. That combined with bouncy little morning children sometimes isn't a good thing.
Yesterday was one of those days. I wasn't thrilled to hear Zoë hollering for me at 7:15am from her room, but I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed anyway. My mood just soured as the morning wore on. After being sick for a week, the house is a wreck and the laundry has grown to frightening proportions again. Much like this. It's like an enormous cotton & polyester reminder of my shortcomings as a domestic goddess. All of this did nothing to improve my mood and unfortunately my frustration and fatigue spilled out at the kids. I apologized to the kids for my short temper and explained that I was just cranky from being tired, but I worry that they'll remember my raised voice and not my apology.
The downside of my working is being a tired mommy, one whose patience is a little thin on some days, whose voice gets raised more than I'd like, whose tolerance and enjoyment of my children suffer from momentary lapses, one that forgets how much I wholeheartedly love being a mommy and being home with them everyday. It's days like yesterday that make me hate my job and what it does to me.
